OSA's Digital Library

Optics Express

Optics Express

  • Editor: C. Martijn de Sterke
  • Vol. 16, Iss. 14 — Jul. 7, 2008
  • pp: 10858–10866

Optics InfoBase > Optics Express > Volume 16 > Issue 14 > Page 10858

Enhanced directional excitation and emission of single emitters by a nano-optical Yagi-Uda antenna

Tim H. Taminiau, Fernando D. Stefani, and Niek F. van Hulst  »View Author Affiliations


Optics Express, Vol. 16, Issue 14, pp. 10858-10866 (2008)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.16.010858


View Full Text Article

Enhanced HTML    Acrobat PDF (1013 KB)


Advanced Search

Browse Journals / Lookup Meetings

Browse by Journal and Year


   


Lookup Conference Papers

Close Browse Journals / Lookup Meetings

Article Tools

Share
Citations

Abstract

We demonstrate by 3D numerical calculations that the interaction of a single quantum emitter with the electromagnetic field is both enhanced and directed by a nano-optical Yagi-Uda antenna. The single emitter is coupled in the near field to the resonant plasmon mode of the feed element, enhancing both excitation and emission rates. The angular emission of the coupled system is highly directed and determined by the antenna mode. Arbitrary control over the main direction of emission is obtained, regardless of the orientation of the emitter. The directivity is even more increased by the presence of a dielectric substrate, making such antennas a promising candidate for compact easy-to-address planar sensors.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

OCIS Codes
(240.6680) Optics at surfaces : Surface plasmons
(260.3910) Physical optics : Metal optics
(280.5110) Remote sensing and sensors : Phased-array radar
(350.4238) Other areas of optics : Nanophotonics and photonic crystals
(180.4243) Microscopy : Near-field microscopy

ToC Category:
Optics at Surfaces

History
Original Manuscript: May 29, 2008
Revised Manuscript: June 23, 2008
Manuscript Accepted: June 28, 2008
Published: July 3, 2008

Citation
Tim H. Taminiau, Fernando D. Stefani, and Niek F. van Hulst, "Enhanced directional excitation and emission of single emitters by a nano-optical Yagi-Uda antenna," Opt. Express 16, 10858-10866 (2008)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-16-14-10858


Sort:  Author  |  Year  |  Journal  |  Reset  

References

  1. J.-J. Greffet, "Nanoantennas for Light Emission," Science 308, 1561-1563 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  2. K. B. Crozier, A. Sundaramurthy, G. S. Kino, and C. F. Quate, "Optical antennas: Resonators for local field enhancement," J. Appl. Phys. 94, 4632-4642 (2003). [CrossRef]
  3. S. Kuhn, U. Hakanson, L. Rogobete, and V. Sandoghdar, "Enhancement of Single-Molecule Fluorescence using a Gold Nanoparticle as an Optical Nanoantenna," Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 017402 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  4. P. Muhlschlegel, H. J. Eisler, O. J. F. Martin, B. Hecht, and D. W. Pohl, "Resonant Optical Antennas," Science 308, 1607-1609 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  5. D. P. Fromm, A. Sundaramurthy, P. J. Schuck, G. Kino, and W. E. Moerner, "Gap-Dependent Optical Coupling of Single "Bowtie" Nanoantennas Resonant in the Visible," Nano Lett. 4, 957-961 (2004). [CrossRef]
  6. T. H. Taminiau, R. J. Moerland, F. B. Segerink, L. Kuipers, and N. F. van Hulst, "Lambda/4 Resonance of an Optical Monopole Antenna Probed by Single Molecule Fluorescence," Nano Lett. 7, 28-33 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  7. T. H. Taminiau, F. D. Stefani, F. B. Segerink, and N. F. van Hulst, "Optical antennas direct single-molecule emission," Nat. Photonics 2, 234-237 (2008). [CrossRef]
  8. M. Steiner, F. Schleifenbaum, C. Stupperich, A. V. Failla, A. Hartschuh, and A. J. Meixner, "Microcavity-Controlled Single-Molecule Fluorescence," ChemPhysChem. 6, 2190-2196 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  9. K. Hennessy, A. Badolato, M. Winger, D. Gerace, M. Atature, S. Gulde, S. Falt, E. L. Hu, and A. Imamoglu, "Quantum nature of a strongly coupled single quantum dot-cavity system," Nature 445, 896-899 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  10. A. Hakansson, H. T. Miyazaki, and J. Sanchez-Dehesa, "Inverse Design for Full Control of Spontaneous Emission Using Light Emitting Scattering Optical Elements," Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 153902 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  11. L. Novotny, "Effective Wavelength Scaling for Optical Antennas," Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 266802 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  12. J. Aizpurua, G. W. Bryant, L. J. Richter, F. J. Garcia de Abajo, B. K. Kelley, and T. Mallouk, "Optical properties of coupled metallic nanorods for field-enhanced spectroscopy," Phys. Rev. B 71, 235420 (2005). [CrossRef]
  13. T. H. Taminiau, F. B. Segerink, and N. F. van Hulst, "A Monopole Antenna at Optical Frequencies: Single-Molecule Near-Field Measurements," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag. 55, 3010-3017 (2007). [CrossRef]
  14. O. L. Muskens, V. Giannini, J. A. Sanchez-Gil, and J. GomezRivas, "Strong Enhancement of the Radiative Decay Rate of Emitters by Single Plasmonic Nanoantennas," Nano Lett. 7, 2871-2875 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  15. L. Rogobete, F. Kaminski, M. Agio, and V. Sandoghdar, "Design of plasmonic nanoantennae for enhancing spontaneous emission," Opt. Lett. 32, 1623-1625 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  16. P. Anger, P. Bharadwaj, and L. Novotny, "Enhancement and Quenching of Single-Molecule Fluorescence," Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 113002 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  17. C. A. Balanis, Antenna Theory: Analyses and Design (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, 2005).
  18. H. Yagi, "Beam transmission of ultra short waves," Proc. IRE 16, 715-741 (1928). [CrossRef]
  19. H. F. Hofmann, T. Kosako, and Y. Kadoya, "Design parameters for a nano-optical Yagi-Uda antenna," New J. Phys. 9, 217 (2007). [CrossRef]
  20. J. Li, A. Salandrino, and N. Engheta, "Shaping light beams in the nanometer scale: A Yagi-Uda nanoantenna in the optical domain," Phys. Rev. B 76, 245403-245407 (2007). [CrossRef]
  21. CST-Microwave-Studio, www.cst.com.
  22. T. Weiland, "Discretization method for solution of Maxwells equations for 6-component fields," AEU, Int. J. Electron. Commun. 31, 116-120 (1977).
  23. T. H. Taminiau, F. B. Segerink, R. J. Moerland, L. Kuipers, and N. F. van Hulst, "Near-field driving of a optical monopole antenna," J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 9, S315-S321 (2007). [CrossRef]
  24. G. Hass, and J. E. Waylonis, "Optical constants of evaporated Aluminum in the visible and ultraviolet," J. Opt. Soc. Am. 50, 1133 (1960).
  25. W. Lukosz, "Light-emission by magnetic and electric dipoles close to a plane dielectric interface. III. Radiation patterns of dipoles with arbitrary orientation.," J. Opt. Soc. Am. 69, 1495-1503 (1979). [CrossRef]

Cited By

 Alert me when this paper is cited

OSA is able to provide readers links to articles that cite this paper by participating in CrossRef's Cited-By Linking service. CrossRef includes content from more than 3000 publishers and societies. In addition to listing OSA journal articles that cite this paper, citing articles from other participating publishers will also be listed.

Multimedia

Multimedia FilesRecommended Software
» Media 1: AVI (549 KB)     

« Previous Article

OSA is a member of CrossRef.

CrossCheck Deposited